Paris, France - Tunisia will benefit from an international legal assistance to recover assets stashed abroad by former President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali and his family, PANA learnt from official sources here Friday. According to the African Legal Support Facility (ALSF), an international institution supported by the African Development Bank (AfDB), legal aid will be made available to the Tunisian transitional authorities, lawyers, legal advisers and other experts in the recovery of 'ill-gotten gains.' Such aid will mainly help evaluate, locate, secure and obtain repatriation following mutual agreement or out-of-court decisions on assets improperly acquired by the former president and his family.

Estimated at several hundred million euros, these assets are believed to be stashed especially in France, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia and Great Britain.

After 23 years of unchallenged rule, Ben Ali was ousted 14 January following a nationwide uprising. 

His wife Leila, and her family have accumulated a huge fortune by controlling the country’s economic levers such as imports and exports, mobile telephony, banking and tourism.

Pana 10/06/2011